Order a visual the way you need it, keep only the leading values with Top N, and move through a long result with pages or Load more. These are the controls on a single visual; the row rules behind them are on Row limits and paging, and the reader-facing basics of sorting and drilling are on Sort, drill and compare data.
Sort a visual
Open the visual's menu and pick a field under Sort by. The first pick orders the visual ascending, and picking the same field again reverses the direction; the list stays open while you flip it, and an arrow beside the row marks the direction in use.
Rows are labelled with the field's name and its summarisation, such as Revenue (sum), and a custom name replaces the field's own name. With Compare on, a measure gets one row per side, such as Revenue (sum) · First. See Compare mode.
The list holds the fields the visual can sort by, taken from its wells. A field the visual cannot resolve is left out rather than offered and refused; to sort by something the visual does not draw, put the field in Tooltips, which is part of the list on purpose.
The entry under the list clears the order: Clear sort while you edit, Reset to default while you read. It stays disabled until there is an order to clear.
While you edit, a pick writes the visual's saved order, so it saves with the report and everyone opens it that way. While you read, a pick is yours: it stays in this browser and never changes what others see, and the report footer's Reset, whose tooltip reads Reset to the author's saved view, clears every personal view change at once. See Read a report.
A chart driven by a field parameter keeps one order for each option. Sort the chart while the slicer shows Revenue, switch it to Margin and sort that, then switch back: Revenue comes back with the order you gave it. While you edit, each option's order is saved with the report; while you read, each option's order stays in this browser like any other personal sort. Clear sort while you edit and Reset to default while you read clear the order of the option on screen only.
KPI and Cards visuals, Slicer group, Key tree and custom visuals offer no sort order. A Table or Matrix orders from its own grid instead: pick a column header. See Table visual and Matrix visual.
While a visual fills the canvas, its controls show as a bar where a Sort button opens the same list.
A sort is a different result: the visual runs again, and a visual that pages returns to its first page.
Keep the leading values with Top N
A Top N rule keeps only the top or bottom N values of one field. Use it when a visual shows more items than a reader needs and only a few of them matter.
Set up a rule
Open the report in edit mode and select a single visual.
Open Filters in the side panel and find the Top N section.
Under Rank by, choose the field whose items you keep. The field is a dimension, not a measure.
Under Order by, add a field with Add and set it to Highest first or Lowest first. The list offers the visual's measures plus the field you rank by.
Under Show, pick 5, 10 or 20, or Custom and a number.
Click Apply. The rule is staged while you edit, like the filters around it, and one Apply commits everything as a single change you can undo in one step. See Filters, slicers and interactions.
While a rule is active, the tile carries a badge such as Top 10, whose tooltip shows the ranked field and the order. Clear in the Top N section removes the rule. The rule is part of the report: it saves with the report and applies to everyone who opens it.
The count stays inside the visual's maximum:
A rule can keep at most 1,000 items.
A pie or donut stops at 500, and a funnel at 250.
A number above the maximum is brought down to it when it is confirmed, and a value below 1 becomes 1.
Where a rule can sit
Top N narrows what a visual draws, so it is offered on ranked visuals only; see Visuals for the types.
It is not offered on a KPI or Cards visual, on a slicer or slicer group, on a custom visual set to the Slicer role, or on a tile on the filter canvas.
A slicer can never hold a rule: capping its list would hide values a reader picks from.
Changing the visual type keeps the rule: if the new type cannot rank, the rule stops applying but is kept; switch back and it returns as it was.
How ranking runs
Ranking happens before the visual draws. DataMind groups the data by the ranked field, sorts the groups by your Order by fields, keeps the leading values, and then narrows the visual to those values.
The tile holds its own run until the ranking settles, so it never draws the full result first and then redraws under the rule.
A ranking that cannot run resolves to no narrowing rather than an error, so the visual still draws and the rule stays set.
When Order by holds only the field you rank by, DataMind ranks its values by how many rows each one has.
A measure worked out over the whole visual ranks nothing: a percent-of-total style measure is calculated across the entire visual, so every value looks the same at ranking time. Order by a plain measure, such as a sum, instead.
The ranking runs under the same row-level security as the visual, so a rule can only keep values you are allowed to read. See Row-level security and View as.
A rule whose field left the visual is skipped: ranking only runs when every field the rule points at is still on the visual.
Blank values are skipped when the rule narrows the visual: the narrowing passes a list of values, and a blank is not one.
What a rule changes about loading
While a rule is active, the visual loads what the rule keeps instead of its usual page size, and the type's maximum still applies. See Row limits and paging.
A rule above the maximum runs at the maximum, and the pager keeps working at that size, so items past the first batch stay reachable.
A bar, combo or line with a Legend field loads in windows; a rule narrows the values it shows and leaves the window as it is.
While a rule is active on a Map, the map loads by the rule's count, not by a row cap you changed under General > Limits.
Move through a long result
The pager under a visual appears once its result outgrows the type's default page size or already spans more than one page; a small result shows no pager.
When the page you are on no longer exists, for example after you raise the page size so the result holds fewer pages, the visual pulls you back to a page with rows instead of loading an empty one.
A Matrix with Rows or Columns filled, and a Bar, Combo or Line with a Legend field, load in windows instead of pages: Load more adds the next window of rows (a Matrix words it Load more records), and the tile stops at its window cap, about a million rows.
A window can bring back a few more rows than it asked for, because rows tied at its edge travel together; a single load is either a page or a window, never both.
A legend-split chart that has loaded more than 2,000 rows shows a warning marker among its controls. Its tooltip reads Showing {n} rows. A legend field splits each row into its own series, so this visual loads in server windows instead of pages - add a filter to narrow it. Filter the legend field to load less. See Row limits and paging.
Questions, answered
Why did my sort come back after I switched fields?
The chart is driven by a field parameter, and such a chart keeps one order for each option. Switching back to that option brings its own order back, and clearing the order on screen leaves the other options as they were.
How can I sort by a field the visual does not draw?
Put it in Tooltips. That well is part of the sort list on purpose, so a field you keep only for ordering can sit there and still order the visual. A field the visual cannot resolve is left out of the list rather than offered and refused.
Why does the entry under the sort list say Clear sort while I edit and Reset to default while I read?
Because they undo different things. While you edit, the pick is the visual's saved order, so Clear sort removes what the report saves. While you read, the pick is yours, so Reset to default drops it and the visual returns to the author's order. Either entry stays disabled until there is an order to clear.
What happens to my sort when a sorted column's summarisation changes?
The sort follows the change: re-summarising a sorted measure, for example from Sum to Average, moves the order onto the new summarisation instead of dropping it. If the sorted field leaves the visual altogether, the sort is set aside so the tile keeps running. See Row limits and paging.
Can I use Top N on a KPI or a slicer?
No. Top N is offered on ranked visuals only. It is not offered on a KPI or Cards visual, on a slicer or slicer group, on a custom visual set to the Slicer role, or on a tile on the filter canvas.
Why can I not order by another column?
Order by offers the visual's measures plus the field you rank by. Ranking groups the data by the ranked field alone, so any other dimension would be dropped when the ranking runs; that is why it is not offered.
Why does my pie or funnel show fewer items than I asked for?
The number is kept inside the visual's maximum: 1,000 in general, 500 for a pie or donut, and 250 for a funnel. A number above the maximum is brought down to it when it is confirmed.
Why does a rule ordered by a percent-of-total measure rank nothing?
A measure worked out across the whole visual, such as a percent-of-total style, looks the same for every value at ranking time, so nothing stands out to rank. Order by a plain measure instead.
Why does a visual with Top N wait before it draws?
The rule first resolves which values to keep, and the tile holds its own run until the ranking settles. Without that, it would draw the full result first and redraw under the rule, showing values the rule is about to drop. If the ranking cannot run, the visual draws without narrowing and the rule stays set.
Can a reader change a Top N rule?
No. A Top N rule is part of the report, like a filter, and applies to everyone who opens it: while you read, you see the narrowed result and the tile's badge, such as Top 10, and changing or clearing it needs edit mode. See Set up a rule.
Why did Load more stop while rows remain?
A tile accumulates windows up to its cap, about a million rows, and stops there; the footer then tells you the row limit is reached and points to Export, which carries the full result, not only the loaded rows. See Export reports and data.
Why did the pager move me back a page?
The page you were on no longer exists, for example after you raised the page size so the result holds fewer pages. The visual pulls you back to a page with rows rather than loading an empty one.